HAMZA MUNAWAR
Contributor
Over the winter season, we may find
ourselves slipping up on living a
healthy lifestyle, both mentally and
physically, because of the cold. One
of Mount Allison’s oldest and richest
clubs may hold the solution.
Every Monday and Wednesday
from 6 to 8 p.m., and Saturday from
12 to 2 p.m., the Shotakan Karate
Club meets at Tweedie Hall. There
they practice aspects of self-defence,
attitude and the emphasis of health
and fitness.
“Karate is a very fun experience

for me,” said Mt. A student Shawn
Levering, a member of the club.
“Although it takes a lot of practice and
focus, it has been quite an exciting
and
rewarding
experience, and a
great stress reliever as
well.”
L e v e r i n g
emphasises that “more students
should get involved because it’s a
great way to meet new people, it’s
a close-knit and welcoming group
and it’s also a great way to get a good
amount of exercise.”
Karate provides a source for many
aspects of healthy living. “Karate has

taught me discipline so far,” said Mt.
A student Aminah Simmons. “Not
just physically but mentally. I am a
whole lot calmer than when I first

re-founded in 2002. “At the time [in
2002], the Mt. A karate club had been
closed for a few years because of lack
of interest,” said head sensei Norm
Robitza. “I was only
a brown belt when
I started the club,
and I have had the
opportunity to train
with some of the most renowned
karate masters in the world. To pass
on the knowledge that I have learned
over the years is so much fun.”
Robitza identifies that the
community the club builds makes
it what it is: “Our club has brought
people together. Friendships are

“KARATE HAS TAUGHT ME DISCIPLINE SO FAR.
NOT JUST PHYSICALLY BUT MENTALLY.”
began, and I am also a whole lot less
tense. I am also now more open to
new experiences and opportunities.
Overall, it’s been a good way to blow
off university stress.”
In addition to its benefits to health
and fitness, the Shotakan Karate
Club has a rich culture since being

FOOD

formed in our classes. I even know
of two couples that married after
leaving Mt. A that were members of
our club.”
Recently, Robitza was promoted
to Godan (fifth-degree black belt),
and earned his international judge’s
license.
Overall, karate provides a unique
outlet to grow as an individual and
beat the winter blues. The club is
always welcoming to new members of
all experience levels, and are looking
to build their group. Whether you are
a beginner or advanced, Robitza has
a place for you, and in the process,
“you also learn some really cool self
defense tricks,” added Simmons.

ANNA HARDIE
Contributor
Ever wonder what the grey bins by the
scraping station in Jennings Dining
Hall are for? The items that belong
in the grey bins are tea bags, banana
peels, egg shells, mussel shells and
beef or pork bones. What do NOT
belong are the paper napkins and fruit
stickers we often see misplaced there.
Now, I know what you’re probably
thinking: why do banana peels and
tea bags belong in the grey bins?
Shouldn’t they go into the compost
with the rest of the food waste? Why
should I care what belongs in grey
food bins?
To fully understand and answer
these questions, one must understand
the food waste system at Jennings.
There are three steps to handling food
waste at Jennings: scraping, pulping
and composting.
The first step is scraping, a.k.a.
when you go to scrape food off your

plate. Once the food waste is in
the bin, it is brought to a pulping
machine. This brings me to the second
step, pulping. The pulping machine
turns the food in to rice-sized pieces.
During this process, the five grey
items (tea bags, banana peels, egg
shells, mussel shells and bones) can
get stuck in the cutter and break the
pulping machine. Therefore we have
the grey food bins in place so that the
likelihood of that happening can be
reduced. That’s why the grey bins are
important and taking a moment sort
your food waste properly is important.
Meanwhile, the rest of the foods
are allowed to go through the pulping
machine and are ground into small
pieces. Finally the pulped foods are
transferred to the large composter
machines, more formally known as
Big Hannas (in-vessel composting
units made in Sweden). The machines
were named Dirt and Ernie by Mount
Allison students. The composter
turns the pulped food into compost

over a period of six weeks. When
six weeks have passed, the compost,
which looks like ground coffee, is
driven over to the Mt. A farm to be
used as soil.
This is all great, but what happens
to the foods in the grey bin if they
can’t be pulped? They simply skip the

HERE TO HELP: A HANDY HAND MADE
INFOGRAPHIC. ANNA HARDIE/SUBMITTED

pulping step and go straight to the
composting machines (the third step
of the food waste process).
Now you know what the grey
bins are for. Luckily, now there are
posters around Jennings that remind
us of what belongs in the grey bins
so even if you forget, the posters will

be there to help you sort your food
waste. Remember that when one
person uses the grey bins correctly,
the people around them will as well;
it’s a matter of social psychology.